The Countdown Until Christmas
by Soliddude1175
Summary: One year after Rosalina and Waluigi met, a strange disaster occurs, and the two meet once more, but in a snowy wilderness. The two, along with many others, must manage life in this new place, and avoid death as well. They must trek forward, because if they don't, all they love will die. And not only that, they too will perish.
1. Prologue

_Well, here it is. That project I was working on. For those of you who read my stories besides my Sole Smasher, do you remember a Christmas Special, where one year would pass before the story would continue? Well, its been about one year, and every day until Christmas, there will be an update, symbolizing one day passing in the story itself. So, get yourself comfortable, and enjoy my next attempt at a non reality story. _

_If you have not read The Greatness of Christmas yet, I strongly recommend that you do, as this story takes place after it, along with the same relationship and whatnot. It may not be the best thing I've written, but this story is better when you know what happened in advance. _

_Anyway, I believe I've spoken enough. Here's the prologue of this._

* * *

><p>Toad Town, a city of mushrooms, with the citizens known as Toads walking about, going on their own business. Their lives were at a high time, as they had everything they needed. Food, a well organized education system, an excellent doctor, a government that abides by its rules, and a well made transportation system.<p>

Speaking of which, a train was just pulling into the station as we speak. This train had left Sarasaland no more than two hours ago, and was just arriving at the station in Toad Town.

"Mama, mama, we're here!" A voice could be heard.

"Settle down." Another voice could be heard, calming the first one down. Upon the train stopping, people started walking off the train, going about to their normal lives. Three people however, were more distinguishable in the crowd.

The first was a yellow creature in the shape of a star, who was floating about trying to go exploring.

The second was a woman wearing a yellow dress, with her hair the color of soil. This lady clearly loved gardening, and she smiled upon seeing the third person trying to keep the star creature from running off.

The third was another woman wearing a sky blue dress, with her hair the color of snow. She was the one in charge of the star creature, and was not doing so well keeping him under control.

"But mama, I wanna go exploring!" The star creature wailed.

"Now now." The lady whispered. "There'll be time for that later Luma. But for now, we have other things we need to get done. I promise, when we finish, you can do all the exploring you want. Is that alright?"

"Sure mama, just make sure you don't forget that promise." Luma smiled. He floated into his mothers arms, and fell asleep, exhausted.

"Well you should took care of him fast Rosalina. Not even I would be able to managed that." The third woman smiled.

"All you really need is patience. Never get angry with them, just reason with them. They'll understand. See, this is something you need to practice on Daisy. If you ever want to be a good mother." Rosalina grinned.

Daisy sighed. "We'll see."

The two left the train station, with plans to go visit the castle. They had to meet up with Princess Peach, the ruler of Toad Town. Once then, they would go shopping.

* * *

><p>On the other side of Toad Town, laid the residential area. People naturally come here to stay at a home of their choice. One house however, was most noticeable on account that there was nobody else that even lived close to the residence who live here. Most likely, it was because of the smell.<p>

"Hey Waluigi! We're out of garlic, buy me some more!" The angry sound of a man boomed from the house. Upon looking closer, this man was the definition of the word fat and disgusting. He wore purple and yellow overalls, something that shouldn't really go together. He wore a yellow hat with a purple W on the front. He had a big pink nose, a zigzag mustache, and he couldn't seem to stop smiling.

"How about shut the hell up and get your own garlic Wario!" The sound of the man named Waluigi was heard. This man walked out from another room and could be described as tall, sensible, and still unaware of the fashion in Toad Town. He wore purple and black overalls, which fit more than Wario's purple and yellow. He also wore a purple hat with an upside-down L on it. He also couldn't seem to stop smiling.

"What, do you expect me to just walk into the store, buy the garlic, and be done with it?" Wario asked. It was noted that Wario was not smart at all.

"Uh, yes! That's what you do!" Waluigi shouted. It could also be noted that the relationship between these two was strained.

"Whatever. I'll go get it, but you have to come with me!"

"Why?"

"Because I said so! And we're going right this fucking instant!" Wario screeched, grabbing Waluigi by his elf ear and dragging him out of the house.

* * *

><p>Peach's Castle was a place of royalty, no questions needed. White and red bricks covered the outer surface of the castle, with a moat surrounding it. A stainless glass picture of the one who lived there was clearly noticeable for all to see.<p>

This was where the females were heading to. And they had just arrived. However, they were in for quite a shock upon arriving.

Right in front of the castle was a wood ship, floating in the air. The front of the ship showed the face of the one in charge of it, and cannons lined the sides of it. People were seen on the decks looking down at the toads screaming for their life.

"IT'S BOWSER! RUN FOR YOU LIFE!" They kept screaming, although all they really did was run in circles. Someone jumped out of the castle, carrying a woman with blond hair wearing a pink dress. This lady resembled the picture seen on the front of the castle.

"People of Toad Town, listen up!" The one holding the princess roared. "I have your princess once more, and if you know what's good for you, you tell Mario that I have her. Make sure he arrives at my castle, as I wish to finally get my revenge!" He roared. This was clearly King Bowser, the koopa king. Those on board the ship laughed alongside Bowser.

"Help me!" Peach cried, hoping that someone would come and save her. Unfortunately, her townspeople didn't look to be in the mood to save her.

"Mama, we need to help!" Luma cried, trying to pull free of Rosalina's grasp to help the princess.

"Stand aside, we've got this." An Italian voice was heard from behind. Four figures rushed past three, stopping below the ship.

One was a man wearing red and blue overalls. His trademark hat made sure people knew who he was, along with his mustache and gloves

Another was a man wearing green and blue overalls. His trademark hat made sure people knew who he was as well, along with his mustache and gloves.

The next person was some sort of green dinosaur, with red scales going down his back and wearing brown shoes.

The final person was a yellow creature who was floating in the air. She was very small, and wore nothing but brown shoes to cover her feet.

Yes, these four were none other than the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Starlow. And they were here to help again.

"Give us a boost Yoshi." Starlow spoke to the green dinosaur.

"Sure thing." Yoshi smiled, grabbing the Mario bros and the star sprite with an incredibly long tongue and shooting them upwards. With very precise accuracy, the three landed on the airship, catching Bowser off guard.

"This must be some sort of record. You're already here, right where I want you." He laughed. Mario snarled.

"Give back the princess Bowser, or I won't hesitate in kicking your ass. Again!"

"Like you could do that! Kamek, show them what you can do!" He laughed.

A robe creature popped out of thin air. Holding a wand and levitating, the wizard snickered. "Master Bowser does not want you here. BEGONE!" He screeched, preparing a magic spell to fire at them.

"I don't think so." Luigi smirked, running right at him, preparing to jump.

However, before he could, a large glob of ink splattered into his face. Luigi screamed, falling over. This was done by none other than the white squid hiding behind the box, more known as Blooper.

"Gotcha." He laughed. This was what Kamek needed to blast Luigi right back where he was with an explosive spell. Mario rushed at Blooper, only to be tackled by someone else. One with an extremely odd set of blue hair, almost as if it was a wig. Yep, this was indeed Bowser's oldest child, Ludwig.

"Going someone Mario?" He asked, kicking him right onto his back. "Ve're just getting started."

Starlow was about to react, if it wasn't for the cannon's firing right at her, forcing her to dodge. The one doing this was a masked man the color of red. Shy Guy.

"You're not going to win!" He shouted as a battle cry.

With the three distracted in their own fights, Bowser laughed. "This is excellent. Soon, the Mario Brothers will be dead, and the princess will be all mine!" Bowser roared.

"You said it papa!" Another voice cheered. A smaller version of Bowser walked out from one of the cabins, the only difference being some sort of white scarf being worn around his neck. This was Bowser Jr., Bowser's favorite child. "Why aren't the others here for this again?" He asked.

"Because they need to watch the castle. If something was to happen to it while I was gone, then it would cost a f-I mean ridiculous amount of money to fix." Bowser answered, trying to avoid swearing in front of his son.

Back on ground level, Rosalina and Daisy were trying to calm down the many Toads upset over the whole situation.

"There there, everything is going to be all right. Mario will surely take care of this." Rosalina spoke, her soothing voice managing to calm down a couple. One a male toad, and one a female toad, more or less called Toadette.

"Thanks." Toadette smiled, still quivering in fear.

"Jeez Rosalina, how can you stand to calm this bunch down? It's ridiculous!" Daisy complained, not having as much luck with calming down the others.

"You just have to be gentle with them, like I do with the lumas." Rosalina smiled.

"You sure know what you're doing Rosalina." Yoshi smiled.

"Hey Waluigi look! It's your girlfriend!" A narcissistic voice of someone already met was heard. Yep, its Wario again.

Rosalina turned towards the sound, and saw him. It was Waluigi, that man who showed her the meaning of Christmas, and how wonderful it was. Since that time long ago, she had left for the Comet Observatory, and had never seen him since. But now...

"Shut up Wario." Waluigi sighed, looking away. Something inside Rosalina broke upon hearing that. Did he not care? Did he forget about her? What was this?

An ambulance pulled up, with someone walking out. "Alright, I came as soon as I heard. Is anybody hurt?" The man asked. He looked very much like Mario, only he was wearing a doctors outfit, and was lacking the hat.

"Everything seems to be fine Dr. Mario." Daisy answered.

"Well that's good. I'll stick around, just to make sure." Dr. Mario took a seat at the hood of his ambulance, and started looking around.

"Hey Rosalina! You remember Waluigi, right? He's been talking about you non stop ever since last Christmas!" Wario shouted right in her face, causing Rosalina to back up, even more so when the stench caught up to her.

"I said shut it." Waluigi sighed again, staying indifferent. Rosalina took note of this. Waluigi would've defended himself in most cases, but yet he was basically saying this was true. Did that mean he just didn't want to be around Wario with this?

A large explosion took her out of her trance. The airship was going down. Four figures were seen jumping off the ship. Mario, Luigi, Starlow, and Princess Peach. They managed to stop Bowser and save the day once more. The ship ended up crashing into the pavement, stopping there.

"You're safe now princess." Mario smiled.

"Thank you Mario." Peach also smiled, giving him a small kill on the forehead, making the plumber blush.

But it wasn't done yet. With a loud roar, Bowser jumped, much higher than you would expect, right out from the rubble of the airship. Landing on the ground, he eyed Mario with a glare. The others slowly climbed out from the destroyed airship.

"You think that I'm going to give up that easily? Think again Mario. How about we settle this like men, fight each other hand to hand. Lets see just how tough you are." Bowser snarled.

"Then lets." Mario also snarled, stepping forward to be directly in front of Bowser. The two eyed each other, ready to fight. With a battle cry, Bowser charged, with Mario charging after.

"Looks like I'll be needed after this." Dr. Mario slightly chuckled.

The two collided. With Bowser's extra weight, Mario was pushed backwards and was ultimately crushed by the Koopa King. Mario quickly rolled out the way, right before Bowser had a chance to slash Mario with his claws.

With the fight going on, Rosalina decided it would be a good opportunity to talk to Waluigi. "Hey." She said.

"Hey." He said back. Rosalina eyed him, hoping he would say something else. But he didn't. She sighed.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" A booming sound screamed from behind everyone. At once, everyone turned their attention to two monkeys running from a large white cloud. Toads went right through it, and screamed afterwards. Then, silence.

"What the hell?" Toad wondered, stepping closer.

"Did you not hear us? RUN!" The monkey screamed again. These two were Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, two residents of the Kongo Jungle. They were here on vacation, but now...

"Get the clown copter men!" Bowser roared at his crew, who had finally gotten out of the rubble.

"Oh no you don't!" Mario screamed, grabbing Bowser by his tail and throwing him aside.

"Now's not the time to fight Mario! We need to go!" Starlow screamed, floating away alongside Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. The others followed suite.

It was as if this cloud was moving faster and faster. As fast as they all ran, there seemed to be no chance for them to escape. Even Dr. Mario's ambulance was not fast enough. Soon, they all were taken in. It took about five seconds of not being able to see two feet in front of them before they suddenly fell unconscious.

This, was the beginning of the end.

* * *

><p><em>See you guys tomorrow, with the next chapter<em>


	2. The Countdown Begins (25)

_Well, here it is, the next chapter. Enjoy._

* * *

><p>It had been one day since the cloud past through, and since then, everybody in the way was thrown into a deep coma like slumber. But it was to only last one day.<p>

Rosalina's eyes fluttered open. She definitely wasn't feeling well. Her head felt heavy, she felt very tired, and she felt cold.

Wait, cold?

She got up quickly and looked around. All she could see was wind carrying snow, moving in one direction. And she was standing in snow as well. As far as she could see, it was nothing but snow. And she couldn't see far with the wind blocking her sight.

Looking around more closely, she could see the others, who just so happened to be there at the time of the incident. They were all still unconscious at the time.

"Good heavens, that was quite the storm."

Rosalina turned in the direction that she heard the voice. A man was slowly getting up, brushing off the snow on his white lab coat. He was small for his age, and had white hair pointed up in the center of his head. He was wearing goggles like a madman would wear. Rosalina approached the man.

"Excuse me, do you know what is going on?" She asked.

"Oh my!" He gasped in shock. "The power went straight into the kingdom. The citizens are here as well!" The man started having a panic attack, muttering things on how to fix this.

"Umm, sir? May I ask who you are?" Rosalina asked the man. He quickly snapped out of it and turned to her.

"My apologies. I am Professor E. Gadd. My job is creating things for the betterment of mankind. Of course, I think I kinda messed up here..." He trailed off.

"Did you have something to do with this?" Rosalina asked the professor.

"Unfortunately, yes. I did. I'll explain once everyone else wakes up." E. Gadd pointed towards the others, still unconscious.

"Alright." She smiled. Rosalina walked over to Luma, and held him is her arms, and simply started cradling him, making sure to him that nothing was wrong. But yet Rosalina still knew, that something was indeed wrong.

* * *

><p>"Alright, so what's the big idea? Why are we here?" Bowser demanded, now that everyone was awake. The group that was in the area before, along with a couple others, were sitting or standing around E. Gadd, who composed himself for an explanation.<p>

"Well, you see." He started off. "I was working on an experiment. An machine that could create real snow, with no matching snowflakes. It would be marvelous, and I would be rich. But, I did something wrong, and it mutated into its own thing."

"How does that even work?" Wario asked.

"I don't know, but science can do marvelous things. Ultimately, the thing it mutated into was not machine, but more or less human like, with snow instead of blood."

"Then, how did we get here?" A giant piranha plant asked, looking to both sides of him, which showed a pink creature with a large nose, and a ghost with a crown on his head. Peaty Piranha, Birdo, King Boo.

"Well, that's what I'm going to say next. Turns out this thing has powers beyond our comprehension, and managed to create some sort of portal, which spread throughout the kingdom, leading us here." E. Gadd answered.

"Then, what about my parents? Why aren't they here?" A toad asked, the same toad that Rosalina had comforted the day before.

"That's the one thing I'm not sure about. Maybe they're somewhere else, I'm not sure. But the important thing is, I'm sure this creature is here somewhere, and we need to find it." E. Gadd concluded.

"Well look no further." A voice cackled.

Everyone jumped up to come face to face with a man who looked similar to Count Bleck. Blue skin, a purple cape, but he was wearing a white button down shirt and brown pants. He wore a top hat, and had a sinister grin.

"Is that him?" Mario asked.

"Yep." E. Gadd confirmed.

"I'd hate to inform you this Gadd, but your story has some minor flaws. First off, I have no powers. At least not anymore. I had the power to lead you here, yet that was all that was given to me. Besides, I always prefer the good old fashion pistol over magic powers any day!" He laughed.

"Hey!" Kamek screeched, pulling out his wand. Before he could act, the creature pulled out said pistol and fired it, blasting Kamek's wand to small pieces of wood.

"Now now, lets not ruin the fun. I mean, if you want to survive here, you really shouldn't kill me." He smiled.

"Hey buddy! We want to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom! How about taking us there!" Starlow yelled. The creature smirked.

"My, for someone so small, you certainly have a big mouth. And my name isn't buddy. I'd prefer if you call me, Overlord." He smirked.

"I'll never call you something so ridiculous." King Boo spat.

"Suit yourself. But it is my name, after all."

"If you please, could you take us back home?" Luma asked, making Rosalina hush him, in order for him to keep quiet.

"I'm afraid that's an impossibility. Your home is nothing now." He grinned, sending a literal chill down their spines.

"What do you mean?" Blooper asked, hesitantly worried.

"I'm glad you asked. You see, I sent everything back where you came from back to the ice age, and left all to freeze. Therefore, nothing remains of your world." The Overlord looked down, thinking for a bit before looking back at them. "But I suppose I can make a deal with you."

"A deal?" Luigi worriedly asked.

"I think I should test out this home of mine. And you are the perfect candidates since you are here. Especially since I left a traitor among you."

"W-what?"

"That's right. Let it all sink in. So, I propose a game. 25 days from now, it will be Christmas time for everyone around the world. It's a time of happiness. However, in the Mushroom Kingdom, the happiness factor is replaced by death. You see, I have a base somewhere in this world that lets me do such a thing. It will be programmed so that at Eight O'Clock, the kingdom will freeze. The only way you can stop this is destroying the place where the program is held. If you can managed to destroy my base and escape it, then you will be sent back to your home, where you can live a happy life. But trust me when I say that I won't make it easy for you. Things that can survive these temperatures will be here, and if you think I'm working alone, you've got another thing coming. My lackeys are around this place as well, either brainwashed, forced, or willingly going around to make sure you don't succeed. I guarantee that a large number of you will die before getting anywhere close to my base. Speaking of which..." The Overlord nodded in a certain direction, which made the 25 look in that general direction.

White wolves faced them. Hungry white wolves. Hungry white wolves with red eyes, looking to eat each and every one of them.

"Well, I suppose I'll leave you too it. You have 25 days, as the time starts, now." With that, the Overlord simply walked away.

"Hey, you can't just leave us here!" Wario bellowed, rushing to where the Overlord walked off. But he was gone.

"RUN!" Diddy Kong screamed, running away. The wolves howled before sprinting after the group, making everyone scream and run, mostly at the same time.

Some people managed to get a considerable distance away from the wolves, while others lagged behind. But the most important thing was not being in the back of the line.

Unfortunately, this was where Kamek was at. And try as hard as he could, he could not get passed anyone. Along with the snow, it was hard for him, or anyone else, to get anywhere. However, the worst thing possible happened to Kamek. He tripped, and within two seconds, the wolves were on him, snapping his neck before he could even scream, and then proceeding to tear him apart.

A few other wolves continued chasing. One sunk its teeth right into Bowser's leg, but the koopa king managed to respond quickly, kicking the wolf with his spare leg, and sending it flying.

"In here!" Mario cried, leading everyone into a cave, making sure everyone else got in. He then grabbed a wolf that was jumping at him by its paws and flung it aside, then proceeded to jump on it until its brains came gushing out. The other wolves turned intimidated.

"Who's next?" Mario menacingly asked. The wolves ran off. Kamek's carcass would be good enough to suffice them.

Mario walked into the cavern and did a quick head count. Of course, he never counted the group earlier, this was just to know for future reference. Nobody seemed to notice that Kamek had disappeared.

"That bastard!" King Boo cried out, shaking his fist into the air.

"How dare he leave I, the great Wario in this snowy wilderness!" Wario shouted, his voice echoing across the cavern.

"Lord Bowser! What happened to your leg!" Blooper asked wide eyed, noticing the bite marks on his legs.

"One of the bitches got me. I'll be fine." Bowser reassured, although he certainly wasn't looking fine.

"Ve might need to get you some medical help." Ludwig spoke, looking at how Bowser was limping.

"What? No! Not for this guy, we can do without him!" Luigi contradicted.

"It doesn't matter anyway. That thing took my medical supplies." Dr. Mario sighed, realizing that he was now just another cheap copy.

"I've already said, I'll be fine. Just give me some time, and it'll heal itself. Trust me." Bowser once again reassured. Everyone sighed, focusing on trying to have everything sink in.

"Mama, I'm scared." Luma whimpered, holding onto Rosalina.

"There there, everything will be alright. So long as I'm here, the baddies won't come and get you." Rosalina smiled, stroking Luma's head. Waluigi snorted.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked, turning towards the lanky man. Waluigi turned and glared at her.

"Oh, don't mind me. I just didn't realize that you would act like this in a life or death situation. I would expect you not being more reassuring, and more questioning about how much longer that child of yours has." Rosalina gasped at Waluigi's cruel words. Was this really the man that showed her joy a year ago.

"Hey Waluigi, how about shutting the hell up!" Wario boomed. Waluigi sighed, looking crestfallen.

"Jeez, it's freezing in here! Can anyone get a fire started around here?" Yoshi asked, looking around the group, to which everyone else looked amongst each other.

"Stand aside, I've got this!" Bowser roared, shooting out flames from his mouth.

At least he would've, if anything came out. Fire didn't come out, and this shocked Bowser once he saw this.

"W-W-What is this! How in the hell does someone like that stop up my fire!?" He roared in anger.

"Papa, don't get angry. You'll hurt yourself even more." Bowser Jr. motioned for his father to sit down, to which he complied.

"When you are left with little to no materials, the easiest way to start a fire, is to collect leaves, and then rub a stick on the ground until a flame catches on." E. Gadd explained.

"But our hands are freezing! We'll never be able to get that done!" King Boo complained.

"I'll take care of this." Mario spoke up, standing and looking around for leaves and sticks. Everyone stayed quiet as he did this.

Luma was the first to break the silence.

"Mama, can you tell me a story?" He asked with pleading eyes. Rosalina looked over at Waluigi, who was glaring at her, before he turned away. Rosalina smiled, looking back down at the star child.

"Of course." She smiled, much to the Luma's delight. And so, Rosalina began telling a wonderful story, that made the Luma feel at ease. Rosalina didn't really care that she was the only one speaking, she just wanted to make Luma feel happy.

Within passing time, Mario actually did manage to start a fire...after everyone else had already fallen asleep. Except for Rosalina, who was finishing up the story. Upon the ending, she too fell asleep, half happy, half sad. But so long as Luma was still around, Rosalina felt that there was still hope. This Overlord may have had the upper hand today, but tomorrow will no doubt be different.

* * *

><p><em>This is how the pattern will work. Once a day, until Christmas. See you tomorrow.<em>


	3. Teamwork (24)

_Lets not waste anyone's time and jump right into this. Enjoy._

* * *

><p><strong>Characters Alive: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Birdo, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Wario, Waluigi, Dr. Mario, Rosalina, Peaty, King Boo, Ludwig, Blooper, Shy Guy, E. Gadd, Luma, Toad, Toadette, Starlow<strong>

**Days Remaining: 24**

Light shined down upon those sleeping, which happened to be everyone. It was a tiresome day, and they all just wanted to rest. But Luma was the first to wake up, and he groaned.

"Mama, I'm hungry." He complained, waking up the space princess. She looked down at Luma and smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure there's food around. We just need to find it, that's all." She stood up and walked towards Waluigi before shaking him awake.

"W-What is it? What do you want?" He asked groggily.

"Do you happen to have any food I could borrow?"

"No. And even if I did, I wouldn't be giving any to you. Now let me go back to sleep, I want just a little more piece before Wario wakes up.

As if on cue, a loud farting sound was emitted from Wario, who groaned and woke up. "Hey Waluigi, where's breakfast?" He asked, looking right at him, as if expecting him to be awake.

"There is no breakfast genius." He sighed, resting his head on the rocks once more.

"Well that how about going out there and fucking getting it!" Wario snarled, waking everyone else up.

"Please, don't use that language in front of a child." Rosalina pleaded. It failed.

"I'll do whatever the hell I want to do! Now, who's getting me my breakfast?" He asked again, now looking at everyone.

"How about get it yourself?" Bowser grumbled, not liking the rude attitude of Wario.

"Out there? In the freezing cold? I'll freeze! That's why somebody else should go out there, so they can freeze."

"I guess I'll go. I've gone through worse just to get a bite to eat." Yoshi shrugged, standing up.

"You're not going out there. Me and Luigi will help you." Mario spoke, not smiling.

"Sure. Why not?" Luigi shrugged.

"I'm coming with!" Shy Guy cheered, standing up.

"Shy Guy, we can't send everybody. Why don't you stay here with some of the others, to keep the fire going. That alright?"

"Uh, ok." Shy Guy looked down, depressed.

"I'll stay behind as well. I need to figure out a good plan for us." E. Gadd spoke up.

"Me and Luma will stay here as well." Rosalina smiled, looking down at Luma.

"Me and Daisy can lag behind, just to be safe." Peach shrugged.

"You guys go without us." Toadette smiled, wrapping an arm around Toadette.

"Well, if nobody else has any objections, then I suppose we're off!" Starlow exclaimed, floating out of the cave, with everyone else following.

* * *

><p>Everyone regretted stepping out into the cold. Being surrounded by the warm fire had kept them away from the cold air, but being surrounded by said cold air froze everyone big time. And nobody liked it.<p>

"How am I freezing? I'm a ghost for crying out loud." King Boo complained.

"How's your leg father?" Ludwig asked his dad, as his leg was now exposed to the open air.

"It's fine. Sleeping helped fix it at least. Before the end of the day, I'll be back to my normal self." Bowser answered, kicking his leg forward to show example.

"Vell that's good." Ludwig sighed in relief.

"Hey Mario? We're out in a snowy wilderness. What exactly are we looking for to use as food?" Luigi asked in confusion, questioning the exploration.

"Something. Those were grown wolves we encountered yesterday. They must be eating something. Whatever it is should be what we're looking for." Mario responded, looking in all directions.

"You mean like." Luigi gulped. "Other dangerous animals?"

"Perhaps."

"I'm getting sick of this. Waluigi, how much longer until I can snarf all the food we get?" Wario demanded, grabbing Waluigi by his ear.

"Ow, Ow, OWWWW!" Waluigi screamed, unable to pull away from his brother's grasp.

"I need to get something in my tummy soon. Otherwise, I might start eating you guys!" Peaty grinned. Everybody turned to him, but yet he didn't lose his grin. He was serious.

"Lets look a little faster, shall we?" Birdo questioned, to which everyone agreed.

This task was easier said than done. Exploring anything was impossible due to the winds picking up snow and blocking the view of anything far out, or even anything close up for that matter. Food was a complete impossibility to come across.

Everyone lacked the skills needed to survive. And if that doesn't change soon, the they're all going to die.

* * *

><p>Back in the cavern, Shy Guy continuously blew at the fire, desperately trying to keep it from going out. He had been at this for hours, and by now was growing very tired.<p>

"You don't have to keep doing that Shy Guy. One of us could take over if you need a break." Daisy smiled, offering some help.

"No no, it's ok." Shy Guy reassured, continuing to blow at the fire.

"Shy Guy, you should relax. It's good to not work so hard, you could get hurt." Luma happily spoke, floating up to the masked man.

"Thanks for the offer, but what if King Bowser comes back and the fire is gone? I'm sure to be roasted." He said sadly, with worry in his voice as well.

"That's why I offered to help. So that you can rest, and the work can be done. It's called teamwork." Daisy grinned.

"Team, work?" Shy Guy asked, pronouncing the word.

"Yep, teamwork." Rosalina smiled happily, happy that he was learning.

"Bowser never taught us about this. He gives us one job, and expects us to do it alone. But, what if he comes back, and he's angry at me for not working?" Shy Guy asked in fear, coming to some sort of realization.

"We won't let him do that. Will we?" Peach spoke with confidence, looking between Peach and Rosalina, who smiled along.

"Don't worry Shy Guy, you can play with me!" Luma cheered, bouncing around. Shy Guy smiled.

"Thank you. But are you sure?" He wanted to make sure.

"Positive!" The four said at the same time.

E. Gadd looked at them, with a hint of confidence being visible on his face. If everyone could work together like this, then maybe they'd have a shot against The Overlord. But, it would mean everyone.

"RRRRROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!" A loud echoing sound roared down in the cave, making everyone jump. The sound of running was also being echoed. Then, blood.

It flew right at the six, hit and smeared them.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Came the familiar cry of Toadette, who appeared from a dark part of the cave. Close behind, was a ferocious looking bear. And in its jaws was none other than Toad.

"Holy smokes, lets get out of here!" E. Gadd cried, standing up and rushing as fast as he could towards the exit. Of course, he wasn't going to get anywhere fast, but the others helped get him out of the cave. The bear gave another mighty roar before chasing down the seven from outside the cavern.

* * *

><p>"See anything Luigi?" Mario asked his brother.<p>

"No, and I'm starting to get sick of this. We've been at this all day Mario. I don't know how much longer I'm going to last." Luigi panted, getting down on his hands and knees, slowly getting weaker.

"HEY, LET GO OF ME!" Starlow cried out. Mario heard this and ran over to see Starlow yelling at Bowser. "I'M NOT FOOD! WHERE DO YOU GET OFF THINKING THAT ITS OK TO EAT ME!"

"What happened? Why are you yelling at him?" Mario asked, wanting answers.

"Starlow here thinks that I was trying to eat him. Why would that floating ball of cheese think that?" Bowser spoke, telling Mario what was happening.

"I'm not cheese. I'M A STAR SPRITE!" Starlow screamed, getting all up in Bowser's face.

"Hey BACK OFF!" Bowser roared, shoving Starlow into the snow.

"Break it up you two!" Mario demanded, stepping right in between Starlow's line of tackling. "Obviously, you two can't seem to handle being close together. So, you guys should separate."

"And since when did you get the authority to start telling me what to do?" Bowser snarled, glaring at Mario.

"Since we got here. Clearly, someone had to take charge, and by me being the only one who helped keep us alive last night by making a fire, I think that puts me to be the one in charge." Mario huffed.

"HEY GUYS! WE GOT SOMETHING!" Waluigi's voice echoed throughout the snowy wilderness.

Everyone heard this call and rushed over, only to find that Wario was already chowing down on a dead wolf.

"Wario, get away from the wolf. I'm hungry, and I need to eat something NOW!" Yoshi glared, storming to where Wario was, only to be pushed back.

"Find your own food, this is mine only!" Wario laughed, continuing to chow down.

"You realize that I'M THE ONE WHO FOUND THIS!" Waluigi snarled, grabbing Wario and pulling away, only to get punched in the face.

"Listen here. I'm the better one clearly, so you get nothing. I'm the better one, so I get everything. Your my slave, you see? Because I'm better, you're my slave, and I'm the master who gets everything. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go back to eating the food you found." Wario walked back to where he was.

"What did you say?" Waluigi snarled, his anger rising.

"LOOK OUT!" The scream of Luma was heard. Everyone turned to see the ones who were at the cave still running from that goddamn bear, and it wasn't letting up. Like, at all.

"Holy shit, MOVE!" Dr. Mario cried, rushing in the direction the bear was moving. Everyone else began running as well, desperately trying to avoid the bear's teeth sinking into them.

The sun was already going down, it would get dark soon. A blizzard started up, blocking the view of everyone in general. Including the bear, which gave E. Gadd an ingenious idea.

"Everyone, dive into the snow!" E. Gadd panted, out of breath. He jumped in and began hiding himself from sight. And it actually worked.

"Quick, do the same if you want to live!" Birdo cried, following suite.

"Why don't we just go back to the cave again?" Luigi asked, not wanting to dig into the cold snow.

"That's where the bear came from!" Rosalina responded.

"Did anyone ask you!?" Waluigi snarled, his earlier anger still at a large amount.

"Mama, he's scary!" Luma cried. Rosalina would've sighed in depression if she had the available breath to do so. She needed to get into the snow before the blizzard disappeared.

"Get ready my child, we're going to do a face plant." Rosalina smiled, wanting to make this as fun as possible for the little one.

"Horray!" Luma cheered, happy that he was going to have some fun with his mother. Rosalina dived, and began digging up the snow, going down until she was buried underneath the cold snow.

"That was fun!" Luma cheered. He began examining the area that Rosalina was creating by pushing the snow, just to give the two of them some breathing space and room. "It's like our own little snow home!" He cheered once more.

"Luma, for mothers sake, could you please stay quiet for a few moments?" Rosalina asked politely, to which Luma responded by nodding his head.

Without a moments notice, the sound of footsteps were heard above. It was the bear, and it definitely smelled them close by. It just couldn't find them. So, that bear decided to lay down and go to sleep, waiting for the group to show themselves.

Which meant that Rosalina wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. This snow would be their bed for tonight, and without a fire to keep them warm, it would be a very uncomfortable night.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you everyone for the reviews. In less than 12 hours, I plan on posting another update. See you then.<em>


	4. Hope (23)

_I hope you guys are enjoying this. I sure am._

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Characters Alive: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Birdo, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Wario, Waluigi, Dr. Mario, Rosalina, Peaty, King Boo, Ludwig, Blooper, Shy Guy, E. Gadd, Luma, Toadette, Starlow<strong>**

****Days Remaining: 23****

The long night had ended. The crew, still in their hiding places from the night before...

...and that bear could still be heard snoring. They weren't going anywhere yet. Rosalina woke up to figure this out, and sighed. She looked over and saw Luma, still fast asleep. She smiled, and looked up to the roof of her hiding place. This was a chance to think about things by herself. All the things to worry about of course, a new shelter, warmth, food, the ever looming time of death for them all.

But yet all she could think about was that man, Waluigi. His change was so drastic, so unexpected, the man she came to love one year ago was now cruel, and seemingly harmless. It was as if he wanted nothing to do with her. Of course, a year is a long time. Maybe he forgot about her...

...no, he never forgot about her. The way he looked at her when they first saw each other again back in the Mushroom Kingdom testified that. Couldn't there be a chance that he found another girl? No, that was also impossible. The fact that Wario managed to make fun of Waluigi when they first met also testified that he never had a girlfriend, or maybe even a friend as close as her. And even if he was lucky enough to get a girlfriend, Wario would continue taunting the two of them, until she left.

Could that be it? Is Waluigi being rude to her, just so that he doesn't have to deal with Wario taunting him? That could very well be the case. Wario indeed proved to Waluigi he wasn't going to let him off easy for anything, by forcing him to go out into the cold, for what looked like certain death, just so that he could get food for only him. But, why does Wario do this, to make his brother be forced to hate others?

"Mama?" The voice of Luma asked. Rosalina knew here that her time was up, and that she now had to take care of Luma. She rolled over to look at him. "Yes?"

"Mama, I'm cold." Luma said softly. The way he said it made Rosalina that he wasn't feeling well. Being small, he would likely get some sort of infection if he was stuck in the cold for too long. Along with being hungry, Luma was having a tough time managing. But Rosalina wasn't going to let him suffer.

"Come here." She smiled, grabbing hold of Luma and bringing him close to her, allowing her body heat to warm Luma up. He nestled himself in a spot he was comfortable in and stayed there. Luma being there also managed to warm Rosalina up as well.

"Much better." He smiled, taking a deep breath. He then looked up at his mother. "Mama, why does it have to be this way? Why can't we go back home?" He asked, making Rosalina look away to avoid Luma seeing her face pale. She needed to make a motherly decision, on whether to tell Luma exactly what this is, as he could only understand so much as a little child, or make him believe something different.

She didn't get to answer, as Luma let out a groan. Rosalina turned back to see Luma facing the snow on the ground. He was still suffering.

Before she could do anything else, the sound of footsteps could be heard again. It was the bear, and it was walking away. In just a few short moments, they could get out of the snow, and start looking for a new shelter.

She held Luma in her arms. "We're going to get out of here soon. Is that alright?" She didn't get an answer. Rosalina looked at Luma and saw that he was asleep. She smiled, knowing that he would need rest at some point.

After a couple moments had past, Rosalina slowly began creating a path above her in which she could climb out of the snow. But, it was no easy task. Her body had grown stiff from hardly moving for the past several hours, and she was feeling the pain upon trying to move. Alas, she couldn't stop just because of this. She needed to get out, or surely Luma would have no chance.

Before getting any further, she heard footsteps again. But they weren't the footsteps of the bear. No, these were the footsteps of a normal person. And she was certain that it was Mario.

Rosalina tried once more to get up, and this time, actually managed to get to her hands and knees before continuing to go up until she saw the surface. There, she pulled herself and Luma out.

Already, the others had escaped. Out of everyone there, only Peaty seemed to have sustained cuts. It was probably because his large size, making it harder for him to get into the snow with ease. Dr. Mario was looking over him, making sure nothing was too serious. E. Gadd was the first to notice Rosalina and Luma. "Oh good, it looks like we all managed the night." He smiled cheerfully.

"Yeah, no problem. You can go ahead and say that without the person who almost died last night right here." Peaty grumbled.

"When are we leaving? It's FREEZING!" Wario bellowed, making everyone shush him to avoid that bear coming back and eating them all alive.

"Where are we going to go even?" Toadette asked. She seemed, unfazed by Toad's death for some odd reason.

"Somewhere warm, and somewhere safe." Luigi answered. "And hopefully, somewhere with food."

"Agreed." Yoshi moaned, licking his lips. Everyones thoughts drifted to food, how delectable it would be to eat something, anything at all.

These thoughts were short lived, as everyone's grumbling stomachs told that those things weren't coming without work. But time was running low, as with every passing second, they grew weaker and weaker.

"Let's move." Mario said sternly, walking in the direction they were running in just a day before.

All day, they walked or floated in one direction. Everyone would need to conserve as much energy as possible. But the more they walked, the more they felt in grave danger of passing out.

Soon enough, the crew ran into a tree. It was sunset, and they figured they could rest up here.

"At this rate, we're certain to die." Bowser Jr. moaned, collapsing.

"I second that." Diddy Kong sighed, also collapsing.

"Food. So hungry. Want to eat." Yoshi mumbled, as if in a trance.

"Alright, I've had enough. Who's gonna volunteer to die so I can eat you and be satisfied?" Wario asked, looking at everyone with a serious tone.

"Wario, shut up!" Rosalina shouted, startling everyone. As she glared at Wario however, she saw in the corner of her eye, Waluigi was smiling.

"Do you know who I am?" Wario asked menancingly, walking forward slowly.

"The fattest jerk in the world." She answered, being completely honest. Everyone backed up, worried about what Wario may do.

"You have some nerve talking to ME like that! Alright, I'm eating that star!" Wario snarled, lunging at Rosalina, who screamed and jumped out of the way. Mario rushed to stop Wario, only to get punched in the face.

Everyone turned on each other. Fighting against one another was everyone. Mario and Bowser, Bowser Jr. and Ludwig, Shy Guy and Blooper, a one sided fight between Luigi and King Boo, everyone was going beserk.

And this presented a perfect opportunity for the next obstacle to show itself.

With a low growl, everyone turned to see a saber tooth tiger glaring at each and every one of them. Much like the wolves, it was very hungry.

"SHIT!" Mario cried, grabbing a branch from the tree and faced down the tiger, ready for a fight. Everyone else began climbing up the tree. Peach looked down at Mario in fear, hoping that he would be all right.

But he was not. In one fell swoop, the tiger knocked the tree branch aside, and scratched him bad. With whatever energy he had left, he used it to jump up the tree catching up to the others.

Before getting far however, a branch snapped under Wario's weight, making him nearly fall. He was holding on for dear life.

"Waluigi! HELP ME!" Wario cried, desperate for his brother to help him during his time of need. Waluigi turned towards him...

...and kicked him right in the face. Wario fell, and crushed the beast. But only fora moment. The tiger sunk his teeth into Wario. After a short lived scream, Wario's life ended, his body ripped to shreds. Everyone was disgusted as they found a spot to stop climbing. Wario managed to satisfy the beast, so guarding his food, he circled it and layed down to sleep. The others were in a familiar predicament, stuck in one spot, and unable to move.

"I guess we sleep." Luigi shrugged, unhappy that once again, he would not be eating. Everyone else felt the same way.

Rosalina held tight of Luma, as she once again fell asleep. Hopefully, things would turn out for the better.

It was all they could do. Hope.

* * *

><p><em>Thank's for reading.<em>


End file.
